Clark quits
campaign: He says he was 'a soldier, not a politician' at farewell

Associated Press

11:39 PM, Wednesday, February 11 2004 | 260 views | 0 | 2 | |

By David Hammer

Associated Press writer

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Retired general and political neophyte Wesley Clark formally gave up his bid for the White House on Wednesday, telling supporters to stand "ready for duty" to defeat President Bush in the fall.

"In the end, I was a soldier and not a politician," Clark said, concluding his campaign with a spirited attack on what he called Bush's "fatally flawed" foreign policy.

"I am going to fight on and I hope you'll join me because we are going to fight on to create a new vision for America," Clark said. "And folks, this soldier will not fade away."

Clark declined to endorse any of five remaining candidates for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. He specifically cited Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

"They're good men. They're good Democrats and they're good patriots," said Clark, who finished behind Kerry and Edwards in primaries in Tennessee and Virginia on Tuesday. "Our country is well-served" by them, he added.

Clark's late-starting campaign, generated through an Internet-based "Draft Clark" campaign, never caught on with Democratic voters seeking a challenger to Bush. He had appealed to some voters as an outsider, but exit polls showed that more wanted a candidate with experience.

"The brutal reality is that (Clark) was a political neophyte, and the savvy voters of the Democratic core constituency saw that as a massive negative," said Bruce Anderson, a visiting professor of political science at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

Clark's campaign staff last week described Tennessee as a must-win state.

A narrow victory in Oklahoma was Clark's best performance in the 13 contests in which he campaigned. Wednesday-morning quarterbacks questioned whether the former NATO commander should have run in Iowa, where Kerry, a veteran, first attracted voters seeking an experienced candidate with a military background.

Kerry has won 12 of 14 Democratic Party contests this winter and, barring a stumble, is expected to win the party's nomination.

Clark entered the race Sept. 17, announcing in brilliant sunshine outside a Little Rock boys and girls club that he was unhappy with the course of the nation. The end came Wednesday on a gray, drizzly day.

In between were mistakes and misstatements. On the first full day of the race, on a trip to Florida, Clark wavered on whether he would have supported last year's war in Iraq. He later found himself clarifying his stand on abortion rights and questioning his campaign's decision to skip Iowa.

"He made some rookie mistakes but he proved he had an enormous fund-raising base and he should be on the short list for vice president or a key post in a Democratic administration," said Skip Rutherford, a veteran of Bill Clinton's two presidential races and the president of the Clinton Library Foundation.

Rutherford said Clark's biggest mistake was jumping into the race with both feet.

"He went on the road too soon. He should have stayed in Little Rock for a little bit and done some satellite feeds, some campaign schooling, instead of flying to Florida and facing the national press," Rutherford said.

And when Kerry was able to seize momentum in Iowa, especially among veterans, Clark's credentials didn't seem as strong.

"The short form is that while Clark was an 'outsider,' there is every indication that this time, experience counts. It certainly counts in campaigning," Anderson said.

"Even with practically all of the old Clinton team in place, Clark stumbled on his own area of expertise - i.e., the war - and failed to show any innovation in areas outside of it," Anderson said.

Clark told supporters at Little Rock that his campaign "was never about my future. It was always about America's future."

He further criticized Bush, saying that the president supported tax cuts "while the poor were handed pink slips" and that Bush had no policy to create additional jobs.

"This soldier stands ready for duty and I need every one of you to join me in this battle," Clark said.

Clark's wife Gert thanked supporters for their help during the campaign and hinted that the former general might have another race in him.

"Someday we may be getting together again," Mrs. Clark said.

Clark, a 59-year-old career military man, jumped to the top of nationwide political polls last fall when he entered the race and quickly showed his ability to raise money. He spoke often of leading NATO's war in Kosovo in 1999 and pledged a "a higher standard of leadership" if elected.

Asked whether he would consider running as vice president, he dismissively said "Awwww" and walked away.

While some staffers were somber, others wept openly and said the concession speech was appropriate for a funeral. Jeff Dailey, one of the founders of the Little Rock-based Draft Clark for 2004 group, was upbeat, but couldn't keep the tears away when he said, "I guarantee you that the draft effort has changed the course of political history."